Ben Mwangi today told Good Morning Britain had ‘no idea’ that social services were involved with his son prior to his murder in July last year

The biological father of slain 5-year-old Logan Mwangi claims that before the youngster’s sad passing, his ex-partner informed him he would never see his boy again.

Ben Mwangi said that after starting a connection with Logan’s murder accomplice John Cole, Logan’s mother Angharad Williamson broke off communication with him.

Logan’s body was discovered in the River Ogmore, close to his house in Sarn, Bridgend County, in July of last year, “fly-tipped like rubbish.” He had sustained ‘catastrophic’ inside wounds in addition to 56 exterior cuts and bruises.

Following their convictions for Logan’s murder, Williamson, 31, Cole, 40, and his stepson Craig Mulligan, 14, were all given life sentences last week.

Today, Mr. Mwangi disclosed how he had at first maintained communication with Logan and had relocated to South Wales just prior to Logan’s birth in March 2016 in order to assist with co-parenting.

However, he claimed in an interview with ITV’s Good Morning Britain that “as soon as Cole entered the picture (in 2019), things completely altered.”

He claimed I was speaking to her far too frequently. Of course, we would just discuss Logan. And then everything started to fall apart.

“She wrote me a horrible message,” I responded, “stating that Logan has a family now, he doesn’t need me, and I’ll never see my kid again.”

When Williamson visited his grandma, Mr. Mwangi kept in touch with Logan on occasion over the phone. That, however, quickly came to an end when Williamson forbade Logan from seeing her mother.

I was completely ignorant of what was happening because I hadn’t seen Logan in so long. I was completely unaware of what was happening to Logan,’ Mr. Mwangi claimed.

Logan was discovered to have been on the child protection registry during the trial as a result of worries about Cole. but was taken out of it a month before he passed away.

A day before Logan died, social officials made an impromptu visit to the house but were turned away because the child allegedly had Covid. Mr. Mwangi is currently advocating for a law change.

In the event that social services raise concerns about a child’s safety, he wants the child’s estranged parents to be notified.

He declared today, “I would have arrived first, without a doubt” (had I known).

‘They (social services) would have examined his wounds and concluded that he did not self-inflict them. There are three people in the house, so this is obviously a dangerous setting. We need to get in touch with his father and inform him of what transpired.

However, I was completely unaware of what was occurring to my son.

He mentioned this in reference to his cause, Logan’s Law, which he named in honour of his son: “This is exactly what Logan’s Law is accomplishing.”

The purpose of it is to inform divorcing parents, like myself, if their child is known to social services.

If I had even the slightest idea that Logan was well-known, I would have captured him.

I would have traveled with a police escort or collaborated with social services, and I would have said: “Okay, I’m gathering my son’s belongings, and I’m taking him out from this obviously hostile atmosphere.” Let’s make him safe if he’s in danger.

If I had known, I would have inquired why I hadn’t been notified, which is one of the major concerns that will be raised during the child protection assessment.

You’d think that as his biological father, if he was included on the social services record, I should have been aware of it.

As a result of social workers and family courts’ inability to stop Logan’s death, there are mounting calls for inquiries into children’s services to be conducted throughout the entire UK.

Since Mulligan had just recently returned to Cole’s custody five days before the murder in July of last year, a social services inquiry into the circumstances of Logan’s death is currently underway.

A national examination into the killings of 6-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and 1-year-old Star Hobson has started in England, and calls have been made for a comparable investigation in Wales.

David Fawcett, 62, the great-grandfather of Star, stated today that social services in the UK as a whole required an overhaul.

Before more children die, the entire system needs to be overhauled, he told MailOnline.

“There are numerous investigations, and while the failures are acknowledged, they continue to occur across the nation.

It is surprising to learn how much some of these individuals are paid while failing to protect children.

“They promise reforms in a year, but what has happened so far?” Social services and the police must collaborate more closely. More checks and communication are required.

The local council has now opened a serious case review into Logan’s death, but Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford has come under fire for turning down calls for Wales to follow England and Scotland and establish an investigation to look into the social care crisis on a national basis.

As Logan’s death had “revealed some severe deficiencies,” Welsh Conservative Gareth Davies said he was “surprised” First Minister Mark Drakeford had rejected the request.

Wales is now the “outlier,” according to Heledd Fychan of Plaid Cymru, as it is the only country in the UK that has chosen not to conduct a review.

And Jane Dodds, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, said that lessons must be taken “so that it never happens again.”

The Welsh Government declared that it will “closely evaluate” the findings of a study of the circumstances leading up to Logan’s death and an inspection of children’s services.

Just six years ago, under the watchful eye of social workers, adoptive father Matthew Scully-Hicks murdered his 18-month-old daughter Elsie. This was Wales’ last significant social services disaster.

At the time, a child protection inquiry discovered that Scully-Hicks and his husband Craig were viewed as “good parents” and that the long list of abuse the child had experienced at the hands of the personal trainer was dismissed by doctors and social workers as accidents.

In an outrageous move, social workers from Bridgend Council in South Wales had removed Logan from the child protection register just weeks before his passing.

Despite having threatened to kill Logan, the same children’s services department encouraged Mulligan to be moved into the family home and out of foster care.

That information could only be made public after a judge determined it would be in the public’s best interest to identify Mulligan so the family dynamics could be clarified.

But throughout the process, Bridgend Council has sought to conceal the fact that it had the chance to save Logan; social workers have even asked to remain anonymous in court.

The court was informed by prosecutor Caroline Rees QC that “a number of social workers have raised requests for anonymity orders.” It appears that they were given the false impression that they had a right to them.

The nine-week trial was closely monitored by the council, which frequently sent two press representatives, two attorneys, and other Children’s Services representatives to court.

After the guilty convictions were announced, the council’s attorneys informed Mulligan’s defence team that they want to keep the young murderer’s identity a secret since doing so “may damage his recovery.”

The tragedy comes after the recent passing of two other children who experienced similarly heinous maltreatment.

This week, MPs in Westminster have been looking into the lockdown slayings of 6-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and 16-month-old Star Hobson, with council leaders admitting no social workers had been fired as a result of the tragedies.

Both were murdered by the partners of their parents during the epidemic because social workers failed to notice early warning indications of abuse.

Following Cole’s application for guardianship of Mulligan, the secretive family courts authorized Mulligan’s move into Logan’s house, which was compared during the murder trial to “placing a lit match in an explosive keg.”

Mulligan looked up to Cole even though they were not blood relatives and referred to him as “dad.”

In stark contrast, he refused to name Logan his brother, referring to him instead as “the five-year-old.”

Social work officials expressed surprise that Mulligan was permitted to live with Logan, who had only been removed from the child protection registry a few weeks prior, to the Mail.

Logan’s mother, stepfather, and Mulligan—whom a foster care worker referred to as “pure evil”—were all found guilty of killing him.

In addition, Cole, Mulligan, and Williamson, who assisted them in staging a “callous” cover-up, as well as Cole, who the court claimed carried out the attack, received life sentences yesterday.

Williamson received a 28-year prison term, while Cole received a minimum of 29 years. Mulligan spent at least 15 years in prison.

Calls were made last night for Wales to follow England’s lead and launch a national investigation into child protection breaches in the wake of the shocking revelation of how Mulligan’s presence was authorized by those there to protect Logan.

Mulligan’s smug reaction to Logan’s death was exposed last night by frightening video of his arrest, which showed him chewing gum and seemingly displaying no emotion.

The baby-faced 13-year-old calmly told police that the black bag he and Cole were seen carrying at 2.45 am on July 31 on surveillance footage contained “rubbish” from the back garden that they had “chucked” in the river.

In fact, Logan’s body was inside the black bag.

Following the verdict, Mark Shephard, chief executive of Bridgend Council, stated: “Now that the trial is over, Cwm Taf Morgannwg Regional Safeguarding Board is leading on the commissioning of a child practice review to enable relevant agencies to fully assess and consider their roles, and to determine whether any improvements can be made to further strengthen the overall standard of local services.

“As Bridgend County Borough Council is actively engaged in this process, we are unable to make any other comments or anticipate the outcomes of this thorough and objective investigation.”

“We are awaiting the review’s conclusions, and with our partners, we will put any recommendations they may contain into practice to make sure we can offer the best, most efficient services to the neighbourhood.

We continue to think of Logan and everyone who knew or cared for him. Many different types of support resources are available to use at this trying time. His untimely loss has affected us all.

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